American Soldier
by LSMunch
Summary: Elliot Stabler has a lot on his mind, the top most being what he does for a living. The song American Slodier fits perfectly for him.


Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever, own SVU. That immense pleasure goes to the genius Mr. Dick Wolf. I hold him in highest esteem and hope that this little thing they entitle a disclaimer will keep him from suing my ass, though then I might get to meet him and ask him what goes on in that head of his....

Oh, and I don't own American Soldier by Toby Keith.

Anyways, on with the show.

This job sucks. Wait, let me rephrase that. The people I deal with in this job suck. There we go. I'm a cop, a detective if you will, and I deal with some of the foulest creatures on the face of the earth. I'm no ordinary detective either. You see, I work for Manhattan SVU, you know abuse and sex crimes. I know that becoming a cop was my choice, as was signing up for SVU, but I still can't help but wonder why. Why did I choose this profession, this squad to work with? But that's something for a day when I have more time.

_I'm just trying to be a father,  
  
Raise a daughter and a son,  
  
__Be a lover to their mother,  
  
__Everything to everyone.  
  
__Up and at 'em bright and early,  
  
__I'm all business in my suit,  
  
_Yeah, I'm dressed up for success  
  
_from my head down to my boots,  
  
__I don't do it for money, there's still bills that I can't pay,_

_I don't do it for the glory, I just do it anyway,_

_Providing for our future's my responsibility,_

I have four kids, three daughters and a son. My wife, Kathy, is supportive of my choice in careers, but I can tell she's somewhat jealous. My partner, Olivia Benson, and I spend a lot of time together. I'm often with her more than my wife, though I wish I could be home more. I want to be there for my kids all the time, be home all the time, but I can't. Not when my job requires being on call 24/7, not when my job means working late to find a bad guy.

I leave in the middle of the night sometimes, responding to a call of rape. I dress quietly, creep down the hallway, trying not to wake the kids or Kathy. I drive through the dark, cursing the perverts who feel the need to rape some innocent woman, or even girl. I don't even get paid all that well for the back breaking work I do, but its worth it. I get to arrest some guy, keep the streets a little safer, keep my kids a little safer knowing that there's one less perp out there. I do it because I want to keep my kids and other kids safe. Let them grow up as close to normal as I can. It's a tall order, but there are others who try, just like me, but all for different reasons.

_Yeah I'm real good under pressure, being all that I can be,_

_And I can't call in sick on Mondays when the weekends been too strong,_

_I just work straight through the holidays,_

_And sometimes all night long._

_You can bet that I stand ready when the wolf growls at the door,_

_Hey, I'm solid, hey I'm steady, hey I'm true down to the core,_

When we bust into a house or apartment, Olivia and I know just what to do, know just how to move so some person who's hiding in a closet doesn't shoot us. Know just how far to push a suspect so he breaks; know just what buttons to push to get a victim to talk. I have to be ready for work all the time. If I've had a tough weekend, I can't just say, oh, I don't feel good. Let's call in sick. I can't.

I spend so much time at work, it's like a second home, or maybe a first since I'm there more than my own house. There are cases we catch that requires us all to stay for days at a time, running on little to no sleep and that crappy stuff they call coffee. How nerves are all on end and we're more likely to fight, but its damn worth it when we snap those cuffs on. Damn good worth it.

I try my hardest, day in and day out. I stand strong for the victims, a beacon of light, of hope. I send the perps sprawling when they deserve it, or slam them into a wall if it gets them to talk. I feed information that isn't always true to suspects, trying to get them to spill. Sometimes it doesn't work, but hell, its worth it when that guy gets thrown in jail.

_And I will always do my duty, no matter what the price,_

_I've counted up the cost, I know the sacrifice,_

_Oh, and I don't want to die for you,_

_But if dyin's asked of me,_

_I'll bear that cross with an honor,_

_'Cause freedom don't come free._

I plan to do this job till my dying day, even if that day comes sooner than it should. I knew what risks I would be taking when I went to the police academy, knew my life was going to be in danger all the time. Still, I went and here I am, a detective. I don't want to die. Hell, who does? But I know that if I give my life up sometime in the future, I could be asked to lay my life down in order to save my partner, save future victims. I'd do it gladly, if I knew that it would benefit the good guys in one way or another.

People think freedom is free, but they haven't seen what I've seen. They haven't heard what I've heard. All they know, all their assumptions are based on what they see, what they hear on the news, in the papers. They don't care that there are cops out there every day, dying to keep them safe, keep them warm and dry. Any cop, any soldier knows that freedom isn't free, no matter how much we pray.

_I'm an American soldier, an American,_

_Beside my brothers and my sisters I will proudly take a stand,_

_When liberty's in jeopardy I will always do what's right,_

_I'm out here on the front lines, sleep in peace tonight._

_American soldier, I'm an American,_

_An American,_

An American Soldier

I stand and fight like any person in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Special Forces, and anything in between. I stand and fight, both with weapon and with mind, weeding out the perverts and those perps who think they can get away with it. I'll always do what's right. I'm a cop, it's my job, but more importantly, its what I live by. Every day I'm out there, protecting you, your loved ones, _my_ loved ones while you sleep, while they sleep. I don't let anything harm you. I'm an American who fights for you. I'm a soldier who fights for you. I fight for you so you can be safe and know that tomorrow you won't wake up to a strange face staring down at you.

I'm Elliot Stabler, detective, father, husband, American and I fight for you every day.

_I'm an American soldier, an American,_

_Beside my brothers and my sisters I will proudly take a stand,_

_When liberty's in jeopardy I will always do what's right,_

_I'm out here on the front lines, sleep in peace tonight._

_American soldier, I'm an American,_

_An American,_

An American Soldier

A/N: Thanks for reading. I got the inspiration for this song while listening to my Toby Keith CD, Shock'n Y'All. I'd like to thank Toby Keith and Dick Wolf for being so great and inspiring people like me to write, expand, be. Sound corny? I thought so. Anyways, regardless of whether that sounded corny or not, could you please review? It helps me think better.


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